


In The Blink Of An Eye

by fishfingersandjellybabies



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-16
Updated: 2016-11-16
Packaged: 2018-08-31 08:04:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8570827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishfingersandjellybabies/pseuds/fishfingersandjellybabies
Summary: In which Bruce is a mess of emotions and memories, and Damian thinks it’s funny.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Damian is 20, and Bruce is old and just got super hella injured doing stuff. Think Batman Beyond old and injured. Dick’s not Nightwing just because. I didn’t edit this like. At all.

As he stood on the stairs and watched the scene below him, all he could think about was the past.

He thought about the almost-ten year old, he’d met all those years ago. Rude and royal and unbelievably his. The child he’d never wanted. The child he _didn’t_ want, in that moment.

He thought about the bond Dick had with the child. How close they were, and how quickly they’d gotten there. Their shared smiles and silent communication. Their trust and dependence.

He thought about his jealousies, at their relationship, when he could never see eye to eye with his own son. About their fights and screaming matches. About his prejudice and ignorance. About that time with Nobody, the one before Maya. When his son thought his father hated him, but was willing to fight for him anyway. He thought about the time Morgan Ducard almost killed him, the time he almost lost him.

He thought about the time he _did_.

The months that were so painful, because they were so empty. The pets he couldn’t look at, the bedroom he couldn’t step into. He thought about the constant memories of blood, of those last gasps that sounded like an accusation. _You didn’t make it in time._

He thought about the grief of the others, how he couldn’t soothe his other children because he was barely coping himself. About how he almost lost himself completely, in those months. In that loneliness and guilt and sorrow.

He thought about that embrace. That first one, right after he got him back. Holding his boy and hearing his heartbeat. So small, but so strong all the same. He thought about the promises he made, in that moment. How he’d do better, and be better. Protect him more, hold him more, _love him more_.

He thought about how he didn’t do a single one of those things.

He remembered how he wasn’t there for his thirteenth birthday. How Alfred made mention – weeks later – that no one was, not even Dick. How their boy tried to hide his disappointment, made excuses for each of them, most of all for him, but failed miserably.

He remembered that that might’ve been when he started to notice.

His son was growing up.

It was like he blinked, and suddenly that tiny, angry child was _kind_. Kinder than all of them. Strange, to be sure, and still fighting the instincts of his terrible upbringing, but. He had friends. He had teams. Had people who would _die_ for him, would love him when not even his own family would.

He remembered the years he got to watch him grow. How he lost the baby fat, and became a lanky teen. How he changed styles, from violent abandon to witty skill, a perfect mixture of all of his siblings and allies. How he grew out of monikers and legacies, leaving Robin at sixteen to take after his greatest mentor and become the next Nightwing. How he discarded that one not five years later, to step into the one he’d always dreamed, always believed he was destined for.

And here they were.

The cave was quiet, save for the dripping of far away water, and that cranky old cat, who sat by his son’s feet, quipping judgmentally as he suited up. There was no one else here, no ceremony or congratulations. Hell, Dick was angry about tonight, had screamed in Bruce’s face about it, because it wasn’t _fair_ , because their baby was just that, and he wasn’t _ready_.

Said baby had scoffed, and retorted in kind about how ready he _was_.

Still, Bruce worried. Bruce was _terrified_ , just as much as Dick was.

Because twenty was too young to be Batman.

But, it was what his son wanted, and they all knew that it didn’t matter what any of them said. It didn’t matter the history of the cowl or the reason he was taking it up. He was going to do what he wanted regardless.

And tonight, he wanted to be Batman.

Bruce swallowed the lump in his throat, and took a steadying breath. He glanced down first at his cane, then the boot around his leg, then the steps he still had to hobble down.

 _Just a few nights._ He told himself as he struggled down the stairs. _He’ll be Batman for just a few nights, until these couple injuries are taken care of. Then you’ll go back to Batman, and he’ll go back to Nightwing, and the world will be as it’s supposed to._

And it didn’t matter the disbelief at the statement that perpetually settled in his stomach. He just kept telling himself.

But tonight, he knew he also needed to say something else, too. Out loud. Not to himself.

His cane clacked as he moved across the cave. The cat heard him, but kept his eyes on his master, continuing to comment as more of the new uniform was put on. He stopped a few feet away, and just watched.

The color scheme was the same. Grays and blacks and hints of yellow. It wasn’t armour and a cape, though. Not this time. But a body suit and trench coat. Spikes along the knuckles of his gloves, and heavy, steel-toed boots. Bruce already felt bad for whatever criminal was kicked with _those_.

His attention perked as his ears caught the new Batman humming. An upbeat, almost happy tune, as he pulled those spiked gloves on.

It was…adorable.

(And such a change, from that rude little ten-year-old.)

He waited another moment, before he felt his heart might burst if he didn’t speak.

“…Damian?”

Damian turned towards him instantly, and Bruce couldn’t help but smirk at his handsome face. His beautiful face, the one everyone told him he’d get, because of the genes he’d been blessed with.

He continued mindlessly putting on his uniform, even as he gently asked, “Hm?”

Bruce’s heart kept swelling, even as he whispered, “You know how much I love you, right?”

Damian’s eyebrows rose in surprise, for just a second, before his face melted into a warm smile.

“Of course I do, Father.” Damian almost laughed, giving his glove one last tug before turning towards Bruce completely, and moving forward. “And you know how much I love you as well, correct?”

“Of course.” Bruce promised quietly.

Damian kept his grin as he stepped up, and ran his palm over Bruce’s forehead, and across his hair.

“Don’t fret too much, alright?” Damian asked gently, as if he were the comforting parent, and Bruce the scared child. “You’ll make your concussion worse.”

“First nights are difficult.” Bruce countered, ignoring the way Damian stared at his graying hair. “Just…promise me you’ll be safe?”

“As I always am.” Damian returned cheekily. “Now, back up to bed you go.” Suddenly Damian leaned forward, leaving a peck of a kiss against Bruce’s forehead. “I’ll come give you a full report when I return, along with a cup of that tea you enjoy so much.”

Bruce nodded, and before Damian could step away again, Bruce grabbed his arms, and reeled him into a tight embrace. Damian seemed to hesitate, before letting out that chuckle, and hugging Bruce back.

“I’m so proud of you, son.” Bruce rasped.

“I know.” Damian hummed, letting Bruce hold him for a moment before carefully pulling back. “Don’t worry about me, okay? I’ll be fine.”

Bruce nodded silently as Damian stepped back, grabbing the cowl off the nearby bench, and pulling it over his head. As soon as it was in place, he let out a wild grin, reminiscent of one of Dick’s, and said pleasantly. “I’ll see you soon.”

And Bruce watched, as his youngest stepped off towards the Batmobile, carefully climbing into it. But before he closed the top hatch and started the engine, he looked up one last time, and called:

“Take care of him for me, Alfred.”

The cat meowed, Bruce laughed, and Damian drove it off into the night.


End file.
